After massive brawl at NJ youth wrestling match, 4 adults arrested

LOPATCONG — Four adults are facing charges, one of them aggravated assault, after an investigation into a 20-person brawl at a youth wrestling tournament in Warren County last month.

Montague resident, 47-year-old Jennifer Takach has been charged with aggravated assault.

Video shows her kicking a man in the head and neck as he was lying on the gym floor, according to Warren County Prosecutor James Pfeiffer.

Pfeiffer said her ex-husband, 49-year-old Dayne Takach, also of Montague, has been charged with disorderly conduct and harassment charges.

Nicholas Cassidy, of Bloomsbury, was charged with the same counts, while Stewartsville resident Ralph Dileo was faced with disorderly conduct.

ALSO SEE: 6 middle schools on list of 'schools to watch'

Adult pats youth wrestler’s head, starts fight

After reviewing videos taken of the fight and talking with witnesses, investigators found that the incident began when Dayne Takach approached a Phillipsburg athlete who had just won a match, touching or patting him on the head and making a comment to the effect of “Now you can go off to high school.”

Takach was confronted by the 48-year-old Dileo; after they exchanged words, Takach began to walk away.

Police said at that point, the 24-year-old Cassidy also exchanged words with Dayne Takach, pushing him.

Other adults began to intervene, trying to separate the men.

Several wound up on the floor, including Dayne Takach, which is when his ex-wife was seen kicking someone, Pfeiffer said.

Jennifer Takach was arrested at the scene. Her case was being heard in Warren County Superior Court.

Charges against the three men were being processed in Lopatcong Municipal Court.

Due to the privacy concerns involving any juveniles impacted by the incident, the prosecutor's office declined to confirm whether all adults involved were either parents or relatives of athletes.